Jehoash Repairs the Temple

12 In the seventh year of Jehu, aJehoash 1became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which bJehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 But cthe 2high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

4 And Jehoash said to the priests, d“All the money of the dedicated gifts that are brought into the house of the Lord—each man’s ecensus 3money, each man’s fassessment money—and all the money that 4a man gpurposes in his heart to bring into the house of the Lord, 5 let the priests take it themselves, each from his constituency; and let them repair the 5damages of the temple, wherever any dilapidation is found.”

6 Now it was so, by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, hthat the priests had not repaired the damages of the temple. 7 iSo King Jehoash called Jehoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore, do not take more money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the damages of the temple.” 8 And the priests agreed that they would neither receive more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the temple.

9 Then Jehoiada the priest took ja chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who 6kept the door put kthere all the money brought into the house of the Lord. 10 So it was, whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s lscribe 7and the high priest came up and 8put it in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord. 11 Then they gave the money, which had been apportioned, into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they 9paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the Lord, 12 and to masons and stonecutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone, to mrepair the damage of the house of the Lord, and for all that was paid out to repair the temple. 13 However nthere were not made for the house of the Lord basins of silver, trimmers, sprinkling-bowls, trumpets, any articles of gold or articles of silver, from the money brought into the house of the Lord. 14 But they gave that to the workmen, and they repaired the house of the Lord with it. 15 Moreover othey did not require an account from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be paid to workmen, for they dealt faithfully.